科研之友
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摘要
BACKGROUND: Rodent sperm cryopreservation is of critical importance for the maintenance of lines or strains of genetically engineered mice and rats. However, rodent sperm are extremely mechanically sensitive due to their unusual morphology, and are severely damaged using current methods of cryopreservation. Those methods result in poor post thaw motility (PTM) for mouse. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the mechanism of mechanical damage introduced to rodent sperm during freezing, a micro-mechanical model was established to analyze the sperm radial and axial thermal stresses generated by microscale extracellular ice formation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: PTM of mouse sperm cryopreserved in capillaries of different radii (100, 200, 344, 526, 775 mu m) was measured using a standard computer-assisted sperm analysis system. RESULTS: The model predicts that when one of the inner dimensions of the containers (the inner diameter of plastic straws or straw capillaries) is on the same order of magnitude of sperm length, axial stress is significantly increased. The experimental results showed that the value of PTM was decreased from 3818% in the larger (775 mu m) capillaries to 0 0% in the smaller (100 mu m) ones. CONCLUSION: Theoretical analysis based on the established model were experimentally validated and can be used to guide the design of novel devices to improve the efficiency of rodent sperm cryopreservation.
- 出版日期2016-12
